Monday, 19 September 2011

How to teach Speed of Play?

Guest blogger Jared
Montz is a former pro soccer player and founder of
OnlineSoccerAcademy.com.
At OnlineSoccerAcademy.com they make better soccer players through
free online training videos. Their mission is to teach players that
if you Believe in it® and back that up with hard work, anything in
life is possible. Friend Jared on Facebook and TwitterHow to teach
Speed of Play?

Do you wish your
players made better passes? Do you want your players to make smarter
decisions and increase their speed of play?

Coaches tell their
players they need to increase their speed of play and they need to
know what they are going to do with the ball before they get it.
Telling a player is one thing, teaching them HOW to increase their
speed of play is another.

The MOST IMPORTANT
thing I teach my Online Soccer Academy players is to check their
shoulders before receiving a pass. I believe this should come as
natural as picking your foot up to receive a pass.

When a player checks
their shoulder they are looking for defenders, attackers, space,
runs, maybe the goalie is out and they can shoot early, etc. If a
defender is coming pass it back, if no defenders are around you then
turn and go forward. It sounds easy right, but it’s not easy to
make it look easy.

Why do players looked
rushed and frantic on the ball?

This happens because
players feel like defenders are closing them down when they are not
because they are not aware of their surroundings. As a coach you are
on the sideline screaming, “Time, you have time!!!!!”

For the player they
don’t realize they have time because they are NOT CHECKING THEIR
SHOULDERS and they are only focusing on receiving the pass. As a
coach you need to teach them this and make it a habit from an early
age.

Watch my Online Soccer
Academy training video above and you will learn a simple exercise
your players can do to increase their speed of play. In my opinion
this can be taught to players as early as seven years old.